"Attack The Block" is set in South London, the movie opens up with a young women on the phone walking home through her neighborhood when she is then robbed at knife point by an underage group of hoodlums (gang members). During the mugging something suddenly falls from the sky and crashes into a parked car. The gang suddenly gets attacked by an alien who ends up cutting the gang leader Moses face, and in revenge the gang and Moses hunt the alien down and kill it. Shortly, after more aliens start to fall down from the sky and land on the estate. However, these aliens are different, they are bigger, more vicious, and kill any human they come into contact with. Moses and his gang become aware of what if going on and take it upon their selves to defend their block and retaliate against the aliens.
The gang in the movie are kids no more than 16 years old (despite there appearance). Moses the leader of the gang leads the viewers through many different emotions. At the beginning of the movie were made to believe that Moses is a common hoodlum with no feelings or morals. But towards the end we see this character and just exactly who he really is. I think the writer did a good job naming the main character Moses. Just like in the bible he saved his people from harsh enslavement and that is exactly what Moses in the movie did. Saved his community, at the end of the movie it is so touching and very symbolic when the people are chanting his name. "Moses!" "Moses!" Just like the in the bible Moses was made to look like a troublemaker when in all actuality he was a hero that saved many lives.
Attack the Block also carried an underlined message as well. Despite the dramatic, and comedic parts, the real message was judgement. The nurse pre-judged the kids and the kids pre-judged the nurse. They all lived in the same neighborhood, and building for who knows how long and not once did they ever speak or just say a friendly hello to one another. Just like the movie the world is filled with may stereotypes and many people go through life sticking to those stereotypes they have for one another. If there was never an alien invasion, who knows just exactly what would have happened. Moses nor the nurse would have not gotten a chance to redeem their selves and see each other for who they really were. The wall would have never been broken down.
This movie also shed a little bit of light on the issue of poverty. The kids lived in a neighborhood where in London seemed like one of the worst ghettos throughout the UK. They did not come from rich families, and the drug life surrounded them. Just like many people living in poverty, they were not blessed with many options. Especially Moses, he is a key example of just what poverty will do to you. He was the leader of the group, the top drug dealer in the neighborhood asked him to do a job for him, and when the police found the gang he is the one who got arrested. Not being blessed with many opportunities or even having some type of adult guidance in his life. From the beginning of the movie you can already see how Moses character is doomed from the start. Moses character represents many kids not only in London but worldwide, and how poverty is affecting their lives. Just like Moses many of those kids suffer in silence not making it aware of what they are going through, and having to survive by any means necessary. Even if it means robbing an innocent woman at knife-point.
Attack the Block also focuses on community and togetherness. When watching the movie I thought of Africa and the villages there. They work as a community looking after one another, focusing on one common goal, for the village to prosper and grow. In the movie, the people of the community had one common goal, to save their neighborhood from that invasion. The characters set aside their difference and worked together. Everyone played a part, and without everyone doing their part nothing would have been accomplished. This is definitely a feel good movie that will have you questioning yourself and the way you treat people. It is a family movie and I do recommend that everyone sees this movie. But when you watch it do not just watch it purely for entertainment but try to grasp the message the director wanted everyone to. Tolerance, because everyone needs a chance to redeem their self and show their true character in the end.
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